@janiners305

Welcome! Echoing @BackbayReef, we are very glad you found us. Looking forward to seeing more of the tank! Your tank is stunning! Our WD didn't do anything for about a year in the old tank, and when we upgraded, it took about another 6 months for it to do anthing other than encrust. It is shooting branches off the side, and now starting to shoot out from the top of the frag as well. What is the red goni you have on the sandbed? Looks similar to my Jae's Atomic balls.

> @BackbayReef wrote: > Why? They want more light / flow or they’re allergic to sand? 🤣 I think something closer to the allergy to sand. In our tank, wrasses bury and fling sand everywhere. It irritates the gonis when they get covered in sand, so elevating them keeps them happy.

Thank you! Ours have absolutely thrived once they were moved off the sand bed, and onto the tower.

> @ktran wrote: > Added! Sweet! Thanks!

View from the end of the big guy

Pictures of all the clams 😁

> @Drexl wrote: > I dose polyp lab reef roids twice a week to help maintain levels while my tank is running fallow and I’m doing about 24mL of ammonium bicarbonate a day to keep nitrate around 2-4ppm. I’ve also cut back on live phyto, only feeding half my normal amount. I tested on Saturday and N was 0.3ppm and P was 0.13ppm. Clams suck up a lot of it. 😂 Maybe that is our issue. We have a huge derasa we have had for 2.5 years. That one alone is probably 7-8" end to end. We also have one derasa that is about 5", and 2 small maximas - 1 is about 4", and the other about 2". The big derasa constantly has a margin of bright white growth on the top of his shell.

We had the same thing happen. Thought we were running 1.026, turns out it is 1.024 also lol. We have a Vee Gee refractometer, and the TM hydrometer as well. We have a Hanna salinity checker in the cabinet, but have never opened it to use since we have the Vee Gee. Just keeping as a backup, because you never know.

> @BackbayReef wrote: > My ratio is way off but I don’t think too much about it. I’ve noticed that my corals do well if PO4 is between 0.10 and 0.20 and NO3 under 10. This tends to jump around depending on my feeding mood, esp with 40+ fish in the system. > @Drexl wrote: > 0.04 is the testing error of most phosphate kits, so I always treat PO4 that low as zero. Also, it's nothing to worry about or something that you want to change rapidly, just slowly increase your PO4 levels and see what happens. Once you get to the 0.08ppm range, most corals do better overall. If you need or want to raise PO4, Randy Holmes Farley recommends using trisodium phosphate (food grade) as a DIY solution. > 1.88grams into 1L of RO, 1mL of that solution will raise PO4 by 0.01 in 26g/100L We are just struggling to keep even that number. 2 frozen cubes daily, nori, and pellets. Corals are looking colorful, but they could always look better. That's why we figured it wasn't a complete 0, just that whatever was there was being consumed by the coral.

> @Drexl wrote: > Here’s my recipe/ratio for nutrient balance. It’s a molar ratio, so the key/goal is to be as close to 50 as possible. It’s not about the actual numbers, but there’s relationship with each other. > Nitrate divided by phosphate, then multiply by 1.53 > For example: N 3ppm, P 0.09ppm > 3 / 0.09 x 1.53 =51 > You’ll notice several things, algae growth on the glass will take longer, less weird algae overall, and most of all, good healthy growth of corals. > PO4 is very important, so keep it in the “healthy “ range and you’ll be okay. My healthy range is > 0.05 - 0.2, with the sweet spot being closer to 0.1 give or take a little. So with my last numbers of 2.5 nitrate and 0.04 PO4, I’m at 95.625. Yikes.🫣 I’m gonna retest today to make sure of where we’re at.

> @Drexl wrote: > Cool, it has a melting point around 7.5, so you don’t need a lot of co2 to get the job done. Two things to remember/consider with reborn. It adds PO4 to the system because phosphate is bound to the skeleton and it gets messy over time. > I’m a heavy feeder, so I don’t need the extra PO4, which is why I use the Tunze calcium carbonate media, it’s super clean and it’s just pure calcium and alkalinity. > Btw, I have the same reactor. Thanks for the melting point. We will keep that in mind. As for the PO4, that’s not an issue either. Ours is usually undetectable on test kits, so we are dosing to keep it just barely detectable. Last test was 0.04, and nitrates were 2.5. I’m a heavy feeder too, but I think all of the corals are consuming most of the PO4.

We are using the re-born media from two little fishies. It’s the same stuff we used before in the old tank.

> @BackbayReef wrote: > GEO makes really nice, high-quality products. If possible, I would add a second chamber to degas the low pH coming out of the reactor. I have a CR618 +SMC618 on the 150gal. Yes, I absolutely love calcium reactors - they’re super low maintenance, once dialed in! 😁 > > Check out this thread re: peristaltic pumps. I have no affiliation with this vendor/product. I’ve just ordered it as well since it’s $70 cheaper than my previous order. > > https://westcoastreefers.com/thread/cmthf6udn0002l4nt2ag10u91?page=1#r-cmuc45xuq0002kdy9ug8k43o4 We do have the 2nd chamber! When we purchased our reactor back in the day, the reefer we bought it from included the 2nd chamber. The whole system was hardly used. I will definitely check out that thread. Thanks for that!

> @BackbayReef wrote: > That works - I believe comparing the stuff out of the effluent vs the tank is a well/proven method. > > I have a pH probe inside the CaRx and make sure to cut off the CO2 if pH ever fall under 6.5, the media will be mushy if under 6. > > To tune it, I just change one thing (the Kamoer) based on the tank’s alk: increase flow if alk is low, decrease flow if higher than desired. I can get Alk to be pretty stable but got bored and did kalk & soda ash recently, trying to chase pH! lol We've got the pH probe inside the CaRx also. We are running our old Geo 618 I think it is. On our old 135g, this reactor was the best thing we did. It helped the most with growth and color. Hubby is looking at the Kamoer FX-STP2 I think right now...we are just running the needle valve at the moment.

> @BackbayReef wrote: > You don’t have an extra one to just swap? I have 2 just in case. Also, curious how you tune the CaRx? We used to, back before we took a break from the hobby. We didn’t intend on jumping back in, so sold/gave away a lot of our old stuff. Hubby kept this one tank just in case. There’s a place like 5 mins away from us that we fill it at. I don’t know if this method is a usual method, or his own invention, but I’ve been testing straight from the drip line, and testing the alk in the display. I don’t know what magic number he is trying to achieve between the 2. I’m just the tester lol. We are trying to reduce AFR usage. Our alk had fallen to 7.3, but after having the CaRx online over night, it has come up to 7.8. Once we are in the 8s again, we are dialing back the AFR and testing again to make sure it holds steady.

Got the co2 canister refilled today, and hubby finished setting up the CaRx, so now that’s online. Just gotta get it dialed in.

We are running an old ATB, and never hear it unless some baby snails get into the pump.

Feeding, scraped the glass, cleaned the skimmer, filled the ATO, read ICP results....The usual stuff.

Welcome!

Welcome!

I cleaned the glass, and fed. That’s about it today.

We usually go Mondays, because things are quieter than weekends, lol

> @wsoldier wrote: > I too love going to public aquariums all over the world. Monterey Bay will always be special since it was the first large aquarium I went to as a kid. Most recently I went to the one in Osaka and snapped the photo below. > > I'm a scuba diver at Aquarium of the Pacific and also volunteer with their Husbandry team. The reason why artificial corals are used in the larger exhibits is for a few reasons: > > - The divers have to go in and clean quite a bit with power scrubbers to get the algae off, and as you can imagine knocking into real coral would be devastating to the exhibit. > > - Other large animals like the Olive Ridley sea turtle also tends to thrash around in the exhibit. We are constantly picking up the artificial pieces that have been knocked around by the different inhabitants. > > Considering the amount of food we feed in the tanks as well, I would think water quality is also an issue at larger volumes. >  That’s super cool!! We have probably seen you in the tank without realizing. Some of those tangs are huge, and I’ve seen them bump into the artificial pieces, and seen them sitting on the bottom. I can only imagine what it would look like if they were real corals.

Hopefully one of these days we will be able to head down a little farther to spend some time at Birch. I've heard good things, but have never been.

We have passes to the Aquarium of the Pacific, and to the SeaLife Aquarium/Legoland in Carlsbad and try to go to each every couple of months or so. Between the 2, Long Beach has the better coral displays, I think. Not much SPS at SeaLife. Only photos I have of both places have my daughter in them. She loves sitting for the talks at SeaLife, and actually sits and listens and participates. 2 pics of the big habitat at SeaLife, and one at Long Beach.

A fellow Glendora reefer. Welcome!

House is set to 77, and tank is at a steady 79. Apex kicks the Vornado fan on at 78.9, and off at 79.9. It usually runs for about 20 minutes a couple of times a day, blowing across the top of the water. Same set up on our the 45 gal we had before this. we do have a JBJ chiller in the shed just in case....I think it is a 1/4hp, but can't remember, and it is too hot to go look.

Welcome! Feel free to post any questions, comments, or even just pictures of your tank.

> @BackbayReef wrote: > You know what will drop PO4 faster, within 24hrs? Lanthanum Chloride-based solutions will definitely do the trick. I’m dosing 10mL a day into a fleece roller to keep PO4 at bay. People reported having issues with tangs but I’ve been super lucky. Good to know! LC wasn't something I personally knew about back in 2016-2018...I have heard good things about it this time around, but just haven't had an issue with the higher phosphates.

> @BackbayReef wrote: > I haven’t dosed RowaPhos in years but the rule of thumb for me has been to only lower by a maximum of 0.03ppm per 24hrs. You can push it to 0.05ppm if you don’t have sensitive fish / corals. Bottom line: slow & steady win the race. > > Good luck! Definitely agree with this 100%. In my experience, Rowa (while great stuff) can bottom the phosphates out incredibly quickly. Learned that on our 135gal we had. Our rocks were so saturated with phosphates that they just kept leaching out. We tried everything we could think of, but the only thing that worked to help bring them down was Rowa. We only ever ran it at a half dose, if I remember correctly, though. We had a full SPS tank and did bottom them out completely once.

> @Fog_King_Reefer wrote: > Hey @TangerineSpeedo, do you happen to have any pictures (or better yet, a build thread) of your temperate tank. Do you stock it with local critters? I’d be interested in seeing that!

> @BackbayReef wrote: > Super easy to swap over and no tools required. What’s cool - diagnosing stuck fluid/tubings with the mini is easy, just lift the lid. Topping off and replacing reagents is 10x easier - I hated sliding the old tray to replace reagents! If no longer on warranty, you should totally swap it out to save space. Good to know. Thank you! I will ask hubby about the warranty. I think we got this one from a warranty swap last year, but my memory is garbage.

I love that!! It is so clean and sleek! How hard was it to swap over the internals to the minis? Our trident is usually within +/-0.8 for the alk. Cal is wayyyy off. I tested the other day with the Salifert and got 480, but the trident read 330. Mag is also within a point or 2 of the Saliferts. I'd like to grab the NP Trident, but we are now limited on space in the stand, so not quite sure where I'd put it.

https://media.giphy.com/media/axu6dFuca4HKM/giphy.gif

> @BackbayReef wrote: > Thank you! I felt so alone so figure I’ll get it off my chest and confess. 🤣 > > When was your last WC and do you test the basic 3 (Alk, NO3, PO4)? Also, do you run a controller? Last water change was maybe May or June....I don't even remember....And it was only like 10 gallons. We run the Apex system and have the Trident testing 2x daily for Alk, Cal and Mag. NO3 and PO4 I test manually with the Salifert kits...When hubby doesn't like my results he double checks with the Hanna testers. I personally don't like them.

Very nice! Thanks for the link to the Reef Builders article. I had never seen this coral before. Looking forward to more pics!

> @BackbayReef wrote: > Speaking of AFR - you’ve found this to improve coloration at all? I haven’t used it in years so wondering if it’s worth it. Colors have improved, but I wasn’t sure what to attribute it to…the AFR, or things just finally settling in and becoming happy.

Same here! Water changes don’t happen in our tank until we see a problem…things seem to do better when we don’t mess with them. So until then, we dose. We should probably run an ICP one of these days……..

> @BackbayReef wrote: > With an exception of my mushroom tank, all other tanks run a CaRx for alk stability and cost effectiveness. I would not trust a needle valve to handle the effluent rate though. Kamoer is your friend! > > Interesting on your nutrient levels - you’ve built quite an effective mechanical/biological filtration system! Thanks! We have the old ATB 850 skimmer from our old 135gal tank, and a couple of the mesh socks. We’ve only cleaned the socks once on the tank, and have only done maybe 3 small water changes since we started the tank.

> @BackbayReef wrote: > Pretty cool - I might switch from BRS 2-part to AFR on my mushroom tank one of these days. You’re ok doing both AFR and TM A/K? > > Btw: I’ve heard that if you over feed or buy more fish, you might save $$ on BW Neo stuff to bring up nutrients? 😇 We haven’t had any issues as of yet….this system has been up and running since January. We are toying with putting the CaRx online. It will happen in the next few months…. We have 17 fish in the tank as it stands now. 5 of which are small tangs. I feed 2 frozen brine cubes, a ton of pellets, and nori daily. Can’t seem to keep the nutrients detectable.

Afr, Kalk, TM A/k, brightwell Neophos and Neonitro….

Welcome!

Welcome! We are glad you found us!!

The 'jump to newest' button works great! Thanks for all you are doing @ktran!

Don't we all?

Thanks for the snazzy new SCRM shirt @Ndrwater! Pretty cozy material!

> @ktran wrote: > Nice to meet some of you guys today! Nice to finally put a face to the name!

> @Raptor72 wrote: > Save me one with my T-Shirt tomorrow. Thanks > > I put all my stickers on sheet magnets that way nothing is permanent. >  Ohh that’s a good idea, putting them on sheet magnets! I like the stickers, but not actually sticking them on things lol

Welcome! When you get time, please share pictures. We love pictures here!

Welcome! Glad you found us!